Gillingham v Wigan

BARRY ASHBY says every game from now on is like a "cup final" and hopes Gillingham can raise their game when league leaders Wigan visit Priestfield on Saturday.

Wigan went top of the table with a 2-1 win over Coventry on Wednesday night but Ashby hopes Gills’ knack of raising their game against the top teams will repeat itself.

And the central defender added that they needed to start hitting the net at one end while keeping clean sheets at the other before it’s too late.

He said: "I think we’ve always been like that since I’ve been at the club. For some reason, we’ve always struggled against the lower sides and against the big sides we usually put on a decent performance.

"Every game we play now is a cup final for us. We’ve had a bad season but the only way we’re going to get out of it is by winning games.

"It wasn’t a very good result for us in midweek against West Ham. We could have got more at Wolves and the games are running out very quickly and we have to try and get some points at home and we’ve got to start Saturday.

"At the moment we don’t seem to be getting any decent results away from home so our form at Priestfield has been saving us a little bit so we’ve got to continue that.

"We can definitely stay up. We’ve got to go into every game believing that we’re going to win it. We’re definitely good enough to stay up but we’ve got to start believeing it on the pitch.

But with 12 games to go, Ashby said three points is a must.

"It would be massive. Them and Ipswich have been at the top all season but I’m not worried about whether they are at the top or the bottom. I’ve never been relegated and don’t start intend to start with this season either."

KM-fm sports editor Simon Watts has been speaking to assistant manager Ronnie Jepson ahead of Saturday's vital clash...